Seeing with the Mind: The Relationship Between Spatial Ability and Inferring Dynamic Behaviour from Graphs

Abstract

Research has shown that many individuals have difficulties solving tasks that involve a principal component of dynamic systems: accumulation. They incorrectly assume that the behavioural pattern of a stock resembles that of its flows and vice versa. This has become known as correlation heuristic reasoning. Much less is known about the underlying causes of this inability to correctly infer dynamic behaviour from graphs. We tested if two dimensions of spatial ability, spatial visualization and spatial relations, are related to selecting correct or correlation heuristic answers in tasks involving graphs over time. The analyses show that spatial visualization is positively related to performance in some systems thinking inventory tasks and is negatively related to responses that show correlation heuristic reasoning. We conclude by discussing avenues for future research into this phenomenon.